


Three and the Rani

by Fishpaste



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Dragon Who, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-09 08:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3242612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fishpaste/pseuds/Fishpaste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The internet posed the question: What if the Doctor was really a dragon? This is the result. Enjoy Dragon Who!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [laurelhach](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=laurelhach).



Prologue:

Paperwork. The arch nemesis of any government official who actually wanted to get things accomplished. The Brigadier sighed through his moustache and pulled the next stack over. It was late now, the majority of the staff had gone home, still reeling from the loss of all those fine brave young men who would never be going home again thanks to these ‘Autons’ as the Doctor had named them.

Speaking of the Doctor, this lot of confounded forms concerned the enigmatic alien. The Brigadier was delighted to have him on board the team of course; his knowledge and skills would be an incalculable asset. But you couldn’t deny he was rather _difficult_ to actually work with. Even before he’d changed he’d been fiercely independent and eccentric, and becoming a tall, frilled dandy seemed only to have heightened his anti-authoritarian and arrogant streaks. The Brigadier could foresee many many arguments with his newly minted scientific advisor down the road. Picking up a fountain pen he began on the necessary paperwork.

_Name? Well, can’t call him the Doctor, not on official paperwork; John Smith will have to do. Can’t imagine where he picked that pseudonym up. Age? No idea, I’ll have to ask. Hopefully it will be something believable, if he can change bodies at will who knows how old he could really be! Address? UNIT HQ I suppose, that’s where the TARDIS is anyway. Wage? None, just a clothing allowance and that silly car he wants. What’s wrong with a good sturdy jeep, that’s what I’d like to know? National Insurance Number? Does he even exist? Legally at least? Medical Information? Well, I’ll need him to fill that out, he’s got two hearts I know that much. Wonder what else…Previous Occupation? Cosmic hobo. No, can’t write that. I’ll just put ‘none’. Parents names and address? Next of kin? Insurance? Heavens, I can’t complete any of this! I best go find ‘John Smith’ and see if he has any answers that will satisfy Whitehall pen pushers without casting doubts on either his sanity or mine!_

So decided; Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart collected the paperwork in question, rose from his desk and went to find his enigmatic new member of staff. The light in the laboratory was on when he arrived, the white haired Doctor bent over a microscope and talking distractedly to a tired but intrigued looking Liz Shaw. The Brigadier pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“Miss Shaw? I thought you went home hours ago?”

“Was I ordered to?”

“Of course not. It’s just been a long day that’s all.” The woman was just so prickly he thought glumly.

“Liz has been helping me, Brigadier.” The Doctor commented absently, reaching out a hand without looking. Liz placed a fresh slide in it and picked up the discarded one from the work bench.

“Right. Anyway, Doctor I need to have a word with you.”

“Hmmm?”

“It’s the paperwork again, I’m afraid. I need some details or, failing that, some creative truths to keep Whitehall happy.”

“Hmmm?”

“Previous occupation for example.”

“Traveller.”

“Well, I can hardly put that Doctor!”

“Why not? It’s the truth.”

“Oh, very well. Parent’s names and address?” The Doctor snorted at that.

“Unlikely to get an answer you’d believe. Make something up.”

“If I must. Medical details? I know you look human Doctor, but we know there are several differences internally, is there anything else the medical teams need to know about?” Liz cut in before the Doctor could respond.

“What are the odds of humans and your species looking so similar Doctor? Is it convergent evolution? Biological engineering? Or something else perhaps?” The Doctor raised his head from the microscope at last, fixing Liz and the Brigadier with an expression of mild surprise.

“Look like a human? I don’t look anything like a human!” The Brigadier frowned.

“Of course you do. If it weren’t for the clothes you could pass unnoticed on any street in London.” The Doctor favoured him with a slightly patronising smile.

“Well that is rather the point of looking like this Brigadier. If I went around in my true form I’d never get anything done. Nobody would stop to listen.”

“Your _true_ form?” Liz put in, leaning forward interestedly. “Are you a shape-shifter?”

“Well, not exactly.” He rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. “It’s more a mixture of technology and dimensional transcendentalism coupled with psychic projects and focus. Not really shape-shifting as it’s popularly understood.”

“So what do you look like then? Really?”

“Oh, very different to this! Well, certain characteristics carry over between forms but still, very different.”

“Don’t tell me you’re actually a little green man, Doctor.” The Brigadier said despairingly.

“Nothing of the sort! My true form is much more practical than these bipedal bodies half the universe seems to insist on.”

“How many legs do you naturally have then?” Liz asked.

“Four.”

“ _Four_! Can you show me? Oh, that’s not a rude question is it?”

“No my dear, not rude. Yes, I could show you but not here.”

“Why not?” The Brigadier asked.

“Too many tables and pieces of equipment, I need a bit of space.” He frowned thoughtfully. “I haven’t been in my natural form in this regeneration yet, I’m not entirely certain what size I’ll be.”

“Size? You change mass? But that’s impossible!” Liz exclaimed.

“Is it? How interesting.” The Doctor replied cheerfully. “Come along then, I’ll show you what a real Gallifreyan looks like. Are you coming too Brigadier?”

“Hmm? Oh, absolutely.”

The Doctor led them down to the empty gymnasium where the men practised and exercised. The Brigadier was impressed by how quickly the Doctor had learnt his way around. He was also very curious as to this ‘true form’ of the Doctor’s. It was so easy to pass him off as just another, slightly odd, human; it would be good to have a reminder of his scientific advisor’s alien nature. They reached the gym and Liz and the Brigadier stood slightly uncertainly by the wall while the Doctor paced to the middle of the empty space. 

He stood there for a moment, focussing then made a sudden odd move of his neck and stretched, reaching his arms above his head. And kept on stretching. Impossibly, magnificently growing and changing until his front feet thumped back onto the ground with an impressively loud crash. The Brigadier dropped the paperwork he was still carrying in shock. Liz took an automatic step back. The Doctor, or the thing where the Doctor had been, looked at them and grinned, displaying an impressive array of wickedly sharp teeth.

A _Dragon_! His scientific advisor was a bloody _dragon_! The Brigadier stared in horror at the apparition before him. Enormous, majestic and terribly dangerous looking, the Doctor was exactly like the storybook images of dragons he’d seen as a child. He stood between five and six foot high at the shoulder but the thickly muscled neck added a good extra foot onto that. His hide was scaled and beautifully patterned, dark green with red markings down his back and white ruffs of fur around his neck. The head was broad and powerful, with two blunted horns and small ears. His tail whipped around, displaying a thick ridge of scales towards the end, rendering it a perfect weapon to bludgeon someone with. No wings though. That was a relief at any rate. The Brigadier stepped forwards again, trying to catch the creature’s eyes. The dragon looked at him. His eyes were still exactly the same; that odd dark shade, still bright with intelligence and enthusiasm.

“Doctor?” He breathed.

“Yes?” The Brigadier felt his jaw drop open in shock. Liz squeaked in surprise and slapped a hand over her mouth.

“You can _talk_!?” She exclaimed.

“Of course I can.” It was very odd to watch the dragon speak, especially when he was using the slightly patronising and superior tone the Brigadier had already come to associate with the new Doctor. “I’m not an animal. I’m a Gallifreyan.” He raised his snout in the air slightly as he spoke, the tail twitching proudly.

“You’re amazing!” Liz said, approaching in awe. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” The Doctor’s ears flicked back smugly and he turned his head on the flexible neck to examine himself.

“I’ll admit I’ve never been quite this richly patterned before. Makes a change.”

“A dragon. You’re a bloody dragon.” The Brigadier said flatly.

“I am _not_ a dragon!” The Doctor declared haughtily. “A common mistake of your species. I am a post-evolutionary conditional hexapod if you must know the correct term.”

“A what?”

“Of course he’s not a dragon!” Liz said laughingly, “He doesn’t even have wings!”

“Oh really?” The Doctor replied. He flexed his shoulders and impossibly, began to unfold a pair of enormous, beautiful wings from nowhere. No matter how the Brigadier squinted he couldn’t tell where the wings were coming from, but they joined comfortably to the dragon Doctors body and, once fully unfurled, looked as though they’d always been there.

“How on earth did you do that!?” Liz cried, “Where did they come from? But! No…They join so smoothly!” She darted forward and peered intently at the newly revealed wings. The Doctor smiled indulgently at her astonishment. The Brigadier felt another headache coming on.

“Can you fly on those things Doctor?”

“Well there wouldn’t be much point in having them if I couldn’t now would there?”

“Point taken.”

“But this is impossible!” Liz exclaimed. “Utterly impossible!”

“Perhaps by your science. I’m happy to say that the Time Lords have developed a bit further.”

“Right, well. If you could switch back to your human form Doctor, I for one would be grateful. I don’t think Whitehall would accept a mythical creature as a scientific advisor no matter what references you gave!”

“I am not a mythical creature.” The Doctor said huffily, but he made that odd move of the neck again and seemed to slide down into himself until the tall, distinguished looking man stood again before the Brigadier.

“Much better.”

“For you perhaps.” The Brigadier chose to ignore that comment. Hopefully the Doctor wouldn’t spend too much time in his other form; heavens knew what the men would make of it!

“Now. About this paperwork…” The Doctor gave the soldier in front of him a look of deep despair.

“Alistair? Have you no sense of wonder?”

“Not when the paperwork still needs doing.”

“Oh, very well. But I plan to go out flying tonight, as I said, I haven’t had a chance to test my Gallifreyan regeneration yet.”

“Flying? But Doctor!”

“Mmm. The wings are much larger and the tail’s heavier, it should make a good counterbalance!” He said cheerfully, walking back towards the laboratory, a stunned looking Liz following on behind. The Brigadier thought about protesting further, remembered the size of the Gallifreyan’s teeth and decided not to press the issue. As long as he finished the paperwork first anyway.


	2. Chapter 1

Jo nodded politely to the bluff military man currently in the middle of a very long, rambling and confusing story about an adventure in his youth in India. Or possibly Egypt, the place kept changing. She smiled prettily at him, hoping he didn’t realise her attention had wandered repeatedly over the past ten minutes he’d had her trapped and gazed out across the gathering again. The Brigadier looked positively dashing in his formal outfit, talking genially to a large group of businessmen. Captain Yates was around too, politely deferring to the opinions of those with more political clout than he did. The formal dinner was in aid of some worthy cause or the other and UNIT had been invited to attend. 

Realising her companion’s story had come to an end Jo smiled and made appropriate polite noises. She sipped from her glass as the Major launched into yet another story and cast her eyes about again, looking for the Doctor. There he was, dressed up in his usual velvet and frills; which fit in a little better at this high class gathering than in the laboratory at UNIT headquarters. He was talking with great animation to a bald man with a walrus moustache, one hand gesturing impatiently. Jo supressed a smile at the look of baffled confusion on his audience’s face.

Turning her attention back to the Major she tried to pick up the thread of whatever story it had been that he was regaling her with but a sudden noise rang through the room, causing heads to turn in interest. Jo glanced over and saw the Doctor standing stock still in the centre of the room. He’d dropped the glass he’d been holding, which had shattered on the marble floor and was standing utterly still staring into space, one hand clamped against the side of his neck and his eyes unfocussed. Concerned for her new boss, Jo made rapid excuses to her conversational partner and left him, hurrying towards the enigmatic alien. But before she had walked more than three steps he seemed to suddenly come back to life, twisting his neck oddly before turning and almost fleeing from the hall, ignoring the concerned questions and looks from those around him.

Jo sped up determinedly, whatever was going on she wanted to help. She followed the Doctor’s retreating form as quickly as she could in her, possibly slightly too high, heels. Eventually she turned into a long hallway of doors, with a single one just swinging shut. Nobody else was around anymore, the famous British reserve meaning they’d given the distressed man privacy rather than open concern. She trotted down the hallway and paused at the door she had just seen close. Doubts were beginning to raise their ugly heads, was this a situation she could actually help in? Would the Doctor be annoyed at her butting in? Could she even be sure this was the way he had gone? Pushing those thoughts firmly aside she reached out and gently nudged open the door, stepping into the large room beyond.

The room was enormous and darkly shadowed, drapes hung limply over the windows and the floor was a dark polished wood. A conference table dominated, surrounded by chairs and pads of paper. There was what looked to be a photocopier in one corner, though the thick film of dust on it suggested it hadn’t been used in years. Jo saw none of this though; all her attention was caught on the gigantic beast standing in the centre of the room, lashing his tail from side to side. She felt frozen in disbelief and horror, the Autons had been bad, and the creature from the prison, but nothing she had ever seen had prepared her for a dragon to suddenly appear in the middle of a London conference building! She realised she hadn’t drawn in a breath for a good twenty seconds and snapped out of her petrified state, breathing in a shocked gasp of air. The dragon whipped its head around at the noise, displaying awesomely long fangs and claws. Jo screamed at the sight, more out of shock than anything else and stumbled backwards out of the room, slamming the door shut on the enormous reptilian beast. Realising that a wooden door would probably not be much of a barrier to a mythical creature made real she raced away down the hallway, back to people, normality and, most importantly, the Brigadier.

She hurried back towards the ballroom room where they had all gathered, quickly composing herself before she entered. Hoping she looked calm and professional and not like someone who’d just been attacked by a creature that wasn’t supposed to exist she weaved around the groups of chatting people towards the figure of the Brigadier. He seemed to have been looking for her; he’d been as surprised as she was by the sudden flight of the Doctor. With a slight pang Jo realised she hadn’t found the Doctor, nor uncovered the reason for his alarm and escape although she’d bet pounds to pennies it was connected with the dragon down the hallway.

“Sir?” She asked when she was close enough.

“Yes Miss Grant, what’s going on?” Mindful that they had an audience she tried to couch her response as best she could without talking about dragons, aliens or that she’d lost the Doctor.

“I think there’s something you should see, in the conference room.”

“What would that be? Is the Doctor there?”

“Erm…no. But it is rather urgent…”

“Urgent? What’s that girl?” A tall balding blond man wearing a faintly ridiculous amount of medals on his chest had joined the conversation. Jo glanced at her superior again, unable to reply without making herself, and therefore UNIT, look like liars or lunatics. Before she could formulate an acceptable response the man started talking again. “Is it another break in? We’ve had a few of those here recently. Damn teenagers, no respect nowadays.”

“Not a break in, no.”

“Then what?”

“It’s…rather difficult to explain.”

“Perhaps, Miss Grant,” The Brigadier said, “You could show me the problem. Captain Evans, we’ll tell you if it’s anything you need to be involved with.”

“Oh, no Brigadier, I must insist on coming with you. After all, my men are supposed to be in charge of security. The more the merrier and all that!” The Brigadier hesitated, seemed unable to think of a good reason for refusing and nodded curtly. Jo bit her lip, how on earth would this rather stuffy military man react to what she had found. If it was still there of course and hadn’t gone on a rampage through London while she had been looking for the Brig.

The three trooped down towards the unused ballroom, Captain Evans leading the way and looking as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. The Brigadier sent a questioning look at Jo but all she could do was shrug helplessly as they reached the door. Jo stayed back as the two men positioned themselves. Captain Evans gently turned the handle and pushed the door open. It had not opened wider than a couple of inches however, when something slammed into it from the other side, forcing it closed and proceeded to hold the door firmly shut despite all the strength both the Brigadier and the Captain could muster. The Captain rapped on the wood loudly;

“You in there! Open up! I demand you open this door immediately.” Jo’s jaw dropped as there came a reply from the barricaded room. Not only a reply, but in a voice she recognised.

“Terribly sorry but I can’t allow civilians in here just for the moment!” The Doctor sounded harassed but unhurt and Jo frantically tried to recall if he’d been in the room with the dragon and she’d just not noticed him, or perhaps he’d found it after she’d run away and was even now trying to keep matters under control. She didn’t miss the flicker of quickly hidden relief in the Brigadier’s eyes though.

“Dammit man, I’m Captain Evans! I am not a civilian! Now open this door!” Evans had gone rather red in the face now.

“Are you part of UNIT?”

“No! I am a member of her majes-“

“Then you’re not qualified to deal with this. Go away and fetch the Brigadier, there’s a good chap.” As Evans spluttered in fury the Brigadier stepped forward.

“I’m here Doctor, what seems to be the problem.”

“The problem, Brigadier,” The Doctor said tetchily, “Is not one that anyone outside UNIT will be able to cope with. So if you could send away the good Captain please…?” The Brigadier nodded curtly to the scarlet faced captain who glowered but saluted and stormed off. The moment his footsteps had faded from hearing the door swung open again. The Brigadier strode in smartly, Jo following on behind, completely unafraid now she knew the Doctor was nearby. Somehow nothing was scary when he was there.

But he wasn’t there. The dragon was, sitting neatly on top of the conference table with his tail tucked around his paws like a cat, but there was no tall, white haired alien dressed in frills and a cape. Jo frowned in puzzlement but before she could open her mouth to ask, the dragon spoke.

“And really Jo, there was no need to scream.” The youngest member of UNIT gaped. The Brigadier suppressed a smile at her reaction.

“What?”

“Amazement and disbelief is one thing. Screaming and running away quite another.” Impossibly, the dragon appeared to raise an eyebrow at her. Despite the fact he didn’t have eyebrows.

“Doctor?!”

“Yes?”

“You’re a…a...a…” A strange sense of calm fell over Jo. After all, what was one more impossible thing when dealing with the Doctor? “A dragon.” 

“I am not a dragon!” He flicked his tail irritably. “You humans always say that. I am a post-evolutionary conditional hexapod.”

“And what’s that on its day off?”

“Me. In my proper form.”

“Wait, so this is how you’re supposed to look?”

“I’m afraid so Miss Grant,” The Brigadier said. “Thankfully he can look human when he pleases. Why he isn’t human now though is something I would very much like the answer to!” The Doctor glared.

“I don’t know. I can’t seem to change back, I didn’t choose to change either, just felt it coming over me and I only managed to hold it off long enough to find somewhere away from all the people.”

“You can’t change back?”

“No.” The Doctor replied grumpily, he did so hate admitting failure in anything. He made the odd twisting of his neck the Brigadier recognised as the movement that signalled the change from one form to another but didn’t begin the mind bending collapse into himself that ended in him wearing the human form the Brigadier knew. Instead he sat there, a mountain of scales, claws and teeth, looking more like a disgruntled cat than ever.

Jo walked forward, circling the figure seated on the table. He was beautiful; now that she wasn’t too busy staring at the teeth and claws to notice. The skin seemed to shimmer in the low light, the colours reflecting oddly and seeming deeper and richer as a consequence. He was a dark green overall, just like the dragons in Jo’s storybooks, with a lighter chest. The darker red patterns along his back seemed simultaneously intricate and simple and the ruff of white fur around his head drew attention to the powerful, flexible neck and the gleaming dark eyes. Every movement was graceful and controlled. She blinked back to reality, aware that while she had been admiring the Doctor he and the Brigadier had been talking.

“No, I’ve never had any difficulties since I first learnt how to switch.”

“And you’ve never heard of any other of your kind having this problem.”

“Another Gallifreyan.” The Doctor corrected primly. “No. Never.”

“So you can’t change back, you have no idea why or how long this will last, and you’re stuck in the middle of London.”

“Thank you for your remarkable grasp of the obvious Brigadier. I don’t suppose you have any solutions to offer instead?


	3. Chapter 3

‘A horse box.’

‘Now Doctor, it’s a perfectly practical and inconspicuous method of getting you back to UNIT HQ.’

‘My dear Brigadier, it’s demeaning and unnecessary!’

‘It’s entirely necessary Doctor, you can hardly expect to go flying around in the middle of London without being noticed!’

‘Brigadier, when you said you would sort out some transport I must admit I was expecting a lorry or van of some sort. Not a horse box!’

‘Well no matter what you expected, this is the transport available and unless you’d prefer to hide out here in your dragon form rather than returning to HQ to find out what’s going on you can just accept the indignity.’

‘I am not a dragon! Nor am I a mindless beast of burden. What was so difficult about finding some decent transport?’

Jo watched the raging debate between the moustachioed Brigadier and the towering reptilian Doctor with barely concealed amusement. She had never seen a sulking dragon before, and the Doctor was putting on a magnificent display; although really the Brigadier should have known better than to try and get the Doctor, the old fashioned gentleman who enjoyed vintage cars and high speed excitement to travel in a mode of transport mostly known for its slow speed and awkward handling.

‘Look Doctor, this is the only way you’re getting back to HQ. Now are you going to stop all of this pointless fuss and come along quietly or would you prefer to continue arguing until morning when the world will be standing around to gawp at you?’

The Doctor glowered impressively, ears flat back against his skull and wings fully unfurled in a subconscious attempt to make himself even larger. The Brigadier ignored the aggressive body language with the air of one who had seen it all before. After a further tense moment the Doctor relaxed his neck and broke eye contact.

‘You have a point.’ He admitted grudgingly. ‘But I still object to the vehicle. I am not an animal.’

‘I know Doctor, I am apologetic but circumstances demand.’ The Doctor relaxed further at the apology.

‘Very well, let us go then.’

The Brigadier couldn’t stop the flicker of relief that crossed his countenance as his proud and wilful Scientific Advisor conceded and accepted the hastily found transport. He nodded sharply at Benton who started the engine running and hoisted himself into the cab at the front. The Doctor looked again at the horse box and sighed deeply, folding his wings down into non-existence and gingerly clambering into the cramped space. He managed to lie down semi comfortably on the hard floor, wedging his tail against the wall to stop himself from sliding around during the journey. He settled down to think furiously about what could possibly have caused this failure with his projections but was distracted  
by the door opening and Jo’s head peering into the dark space.

‘There’s not enough room for three in the front, can I sit in the back with you? I know it’s against regulations…’

‘As long as you promise not to start screaming again.’

‘Doctor! I was just surprised that’s all! I’m not scared of you…you’re teasing me aren’t you?’

The Doctor smiled, the laughter evident in his eyes countering the vicous teeth displayed. Jo resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and sat down on the floor, closing the door behind her and plunging the two into almost complete darkness. Apparently horses didn’t need windows to travel. It was quite a nice horse box, as horse boxes went, designed to transport two horses at once it was big enough to comfortably fit an enormous scaly alien and his small cheerful assistant. The vehicle started with a jolt and Jo nearly fell over, catching herself at the last moment on the Doctor’s thickly ridged tail. She snatched her hand away hurriedly, casting an anxious glance towards her boss. The Doctor chuckled.

‘There’s no need to look so nervous Jo, I’m not going to bite.’

‘I’m not nervous! I’m curious, is this how all Time Lords look?’

‘Well there are variations in colour and size but mostly, yes.’

‘And your normal, your human, form? How does that work?’

‘It’s a psychic projection coupled with certain energy fields and dimensional technology.’

‘So it’s mask?’

‘In a very simplified manner.’ He seemed amused by her reasoning so she ploughed ahead with her questions.

‘So where do you go? All of your extra mass, does it just disappear?’

‘No, the mass is still there, the projection is bigger on the inside.’

‘Like the TARDIS?’

‘Exactly like the TARDIS, it’s a variant on the same technology.’

‘But what if your human form got shot or something? Would your dragon form be injured too?’

‘It’s not a “dragon form”.’ The Doctor corrected patiently. ‘I’m a post evolutionary conditional hexapod. And yes, this form is contained within the projection and so would get shot too. Poisons and acids as well, anything that can get further than skin deep affects my natural form, although there are few poisons that can actually damage my true form.’

Jo braced herself as the van made a sharp turn.

‘So when you want to put your wings away they just go back into the projection?’

‘Precisely.’

‘Can you fly on them?’

‘Of course I can fly on them, why else would I have them?’

‘Well, that’s true, but surely you’re too heavy to fly even with such large wings…’ The Doctor smiled delightedly at her reasoning.

‘Well done Jo, your scientific mind is improving! To answer your question, by your science nothing my size should be able to fly at all in a world with this level of gravity.’

‘So how do you?’

‘Telekinesis of a sort. Mental focussing and pure mathematics which grants me a…’ he trailed off into another language briefly. ‘English just doesn’t have the words for it yet. But it’s a mental power that negates the pull of gravity and air resistance to a degree.’

‘Oh.’

Any further conversation was cut short as they pulled up to UNIT HQ. The Doctor squeezed hurriedly out of the confining space of the van, almost sending Jo flying in his rush to leave the undignified box. 

‘I need to get to the TARDIS, run some tests.’ He said once he was finally out and able to move freely.

‘Do you really think you’ll be able to fix it?’ The Brigadier asked. ‘I can’t really have a four legged scaled alien as a scientific advisor. Not unless you never left the lab.’

‘No thank you.’ The Doctor said curtly. ‘I’m already confined to a single time and place, I have no intention of being locked away further.’

‘Can you fix it then?’

‘I don’t know yet, allow me a chance to discover what “it” is first please.’

‘Well go ahead then.’ The Brigadier paused. ‘Can you get to your lab in this form?’

The Doctor didn’t bother answering that and instead pushed the door open and began to move cautiously into the building. Keeping his head low and moving cautiously he made good progress through the corridors, only occasionally knocking into hanging lights and tipping over the odd fire extinguisher with his tail.

Jo marvelled at how controlled he was, aware at all times of where every part of his body was and where all the architecture was. He used his snout to push doors open, rather than the more awkward shifting to use his front paws. When they reached the TARDIS she wondered how he would open the door, there was no sign of the key that usually hung around his neck. 

Finally reaching the battered blue box the Doctor sighed in relief. Constantly being careful to avoid upsetting any of the delicate experiments set up on various benches he reached up with one taloned paw and felt around in a little cubbyhole above the “P” of Police Box. He withdrew a hidden key and deftly inserted it into the lock, fingers surprisingly nimble despite the dangerous looking claws.

Jo followed him into the gleaming white corridors of the TARDIS, noticing how he seemed to relax once he was out of sight of all the gawping bystanders at UNIT. It was very obvious that he disliked having to creep around, careful not to damage things. It made him seem a joke, a cartoon dragon instead of a member of a wise and powerful alien race. 

She followed him down to his laboratory, hoping that he’d be able to solve this problem quickly, so he could return to being the white haired insufferable alien genius UNIT knew and, though they’d never admit it, loved. He didn’t seem to notice Jo hurrying along behind him, eager to help however she could.

The lab was a bizarre mish-mash of various different technological styles. Futuristic white instruments nestled next to dried herbs and a pestle and mortar. There was a stainless steel workbench, covered in tools from across the galaxy, most of which Jo didn’t recognise. She stared about in wonder as the Doctor practically leapt over to a large metal contraption with several glowing screens on it. Jo tentatively identified it as a scanning device as he drew a syringe of his own blood and dropped it on one of the glowing surfaces. Strange symbols began to flash across the screen, the Doctor staring at them intently.

“Any information Doctor?” She asked after a while. He flicked his ears in surprise, seeing her standing patiently next to him.

“Hmmm? Oh, nothing yet. I’ve just confirmed there’s no difference in my blood, no toxins or other additives that could explain my inability to change forms. According to the readings I’m in perfect health.”

“So what could it be?”

“Some sort of broadcast perhaps…a telepathic wave…” He paused suddenly. “If it is unique to earth I should be able to change back here, the TARDIS is in a separate dimension, well the inside is…” He leaned back and twisted his neck oddly, suddenly collapsing back into himself and transforming into the white haired gentleman Jo knew. 

“Doctor! You’re back!” She shouted happily, rushing forward to hug him again. Not that his dragon form wasn’t impressive and beautiful, but this was her Doctor. He looked smugly pleased too, quietly relieved that it was an outside problem, not a sudden inability on his part to transform.

“Well, now we know the problem originates on earth.”

“What could it be?”

“If it’s a telepathic signal, it must be one specifically designed to prevent a Gallifreyan from shifting out of its natural form…” Jo frowned.

“But who else knows you’re here and a Gallifrey-the Master?” She yelped, her brain suddenly making the connection.

“It would appear so.” The Doctor said grimly. “I imagine this is his method of stopping me interfering in his activities. Though it must be affecting him too…”

“Perhaps he doesn’t need to be in his human form?”

“Perhaps.” The Doctor sighed. “So we need to track him down and find a way to turn off whatever device he’s using to stop me transforming. And I’ll either have to do it from inside the TARDIS or while in my rather more conspicuous form…” 

“Looks like it.”

“Come on then Jo, we’ve got work to do!” He smiled brightly at her, eyes alight with the pleasure of a challenge.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is set in the Dragon Who universe created by laurelhach on Tumblr. In it, the Gallifreyans are all natural dragony lizard things. The wings are added on in later life. They can switch between human form and dragon. Other than that, everything is exactly the same. Look her up on tumblr to see some of her amazing dragon designs and headcanons. All credit for the universes creation goes there!  
> 


End file.
